Greece and Germany share a common future as part of their European course, President Karolos Papoulias told visiting German President Joachim Gauck yesterday, after an official welcome ceremony at the Presidential Mansion. However, during talks between the two leaders, Papoulias returned to the two issues of German war reparations and repayment of a forced WWII loan extracted from Greece by the Nazi regime.

Speaking at a joint press conference following their meeting, Papoulias said: "I raised the issue of German reparations and the occupation loan with President Gauck. I want to point out that Greece has never ceded its claims and it requests that talks to resolve the issue should commence at the earliest opportunity."

The Greek president conceded that the crisis Greece is experiencing is due to considerable mistakes of its own, underlining however the shortages in the euro's structure and the deadlock of the punitive, as he said, policies that the countries of the North are imposing.

On his part, Gauck affirmed Germany's solidarity with Greece and said that Europe was learning from its mistakes and reforming, during a lecture organised by the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) and the German Embassy at the Acropolis Museum. Although Gauck dismissed Greek demands for compensation for Nazi-era crimes, he instead offered to set up a new fund to remind Germans of their past.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras attented an extraordinary summit, convened by the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, in Brussels on Thursday (06.03). The EU leaders discussed the latest developments in Ukraine and how to facilitate the de-escalation of the situation. Samaras underlined the need to avoid moves that could cause an armed conflict and called for substantive dialogue between all sides to ease tension in the region."We have a crisis to deal with and Europe must prove its meditating role," Samaras said. Furthermore, he referred to the historic ties between Greece and Ukraine and to the Greek community in Mariupol. Ukraine’s interim Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk, who also participated, stated that he is ready to sign the EU-Ukraine association agreement as soon as possible.

Later, the premier travelled to Dublin, where he attended the European People’s Party Congress. Apart from discussing the Ukrainian issue, the EPP will precede to the election of the EPP’s candidate for the Commission’s President.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos attended the International Ministerial Conference in support of Libya that was held in Rome on March 6. On the margins of the meeting, Venizelos met with his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu on the situation in Ukraine.

In his statements at the conference, Venizelos highlighted that "recent breaches of security and outbreaks of violence in the country have raised concerns regarding the transition process and further underscore the importance of a credible, all-inclusive Dialogue and comprehensive National Reconciliation," key to ensuring progress towards a stable and cohesive Libyan state.

Preventing violence against women is this year's International Women's Day theme to be held on March 8. Violence is not only a violation of human rights, but it also amounts to gender-based discrimination that denies women the opportunity to fully participate in economic, social, political and cultural life. 

The Office of the European Parliament in Greece, in cooperation with the Representation of the EU Commission in Greece, and the General Secretariat of Equality are hosting an event entitled "Preventing Violence against Women - a challenge for all" on March 7, to discuss how to tackle violence against women and achieve true gender equality.

Greece ranks 20th (25%), below the EU average (33%) in physical or sexual violence by a partner or a non-partner from the age of 15. It also ranks 22nd (25%) below the EU average (35%) regarding physical, sexual or psychological violence by an adult, before the age of 15.It is noteworthy that women in Greece have recorded the highest emotional response to abuse, with 75% of the respondents declaring "angry" towards abuse – well above the EU average (61%).

See also: Press briefing of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), General Secretariat for Gender Equality (Press Release) Europe’s urgent need for a growth sensitive policy on gender equality & Greek Presidency priorities on gender equality presented at EP FEMM Committee

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) presented, on March 6, the world’s biggest survey on violence against women, based on 42,000 interviews from women aged 18-74. The survey asked women about their experiences of physical, sexual and psychological violence, including domestic violence, incidents of stalking, sexual harassment, and childhood abuse.

According to the key findings of the report, 33% of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15, a number that corresponds to 62 million women. Furthermore, 43% have experienced some form of psychological violence by either a current or a previous partner, such as public humiliation; forbidding a woman to leave the house or locking her up; forcing her to watch pornography; and threats of violence. Moreover, 67% did not report the most serious incident of partner violence to the police or any other organisation.